Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State, Thursday, shared N734 million and distributed books and grains in thousands of bags to over 4,945 traditional Islamic schools referred to as Tsangaya in the state, famously called Almajiri system across Nigeria.
The 4,945 schools were drawn from across the 27 local government areas of Borno State.
The support came from Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) through collaboration by Borno State Universal Basic Education Board (BOSUBED) and Borno State Arabic and Tsangaya Education Board, which regulates the almajiri schools.
The distribution took place at the Ramat Square in Maiduguri and was attended by thousands of Sangaya and Islamiya teachers and students.
Governor Zulum made a symbolic presentation of cheques bearing the grants to beneficiaries.
The funds were to improve conditions of learning at benefiting Sangaya schools in Borno state.
Zulum explained that about 190 Islamiya and Sangaya centres, each of them with over 400 students, was allocated N300,000, 527 centres with between 201 and 400 students receiving N250,000 each; 2,540 centres with between 51 and 200 students getting N150,000 each while 1,649 centres with 50 students and below, each receiving N100,000.
Besides the monetary support, each of the 4,945 Sangaya schools benefited from 6,330 bags and cartons of food which comprised of over 2,000 bags of rice, 1,100 bags of maize, 850 cartons of Spaghetti, 1,600 cartons of Macaroni, 480 gallons of groundnut oil and 300 gallons of palm oil.
Aside food, other materials were distributed and they included 29,480 copies of the Holy Quran, 1,800 copies of Hadith, 30,068 pieces of mats, 112,892 sets of school uniforms, 41,300 mosquito nets, 8,100 pieces of slades (allo), 424,896 pieces of exercise books and 450 packs of pencils.
Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC), Dr Hamid Bobboyi, who was represented by the northeast zonal coordinator, Abdullahi S. Jarma commended Governor Babagana Umara Zulum for his outstanding reform of basic education in Borno.
Executive Chairman, Borno State Universal Basic Education Board (BOSUBED), Prof. Bulama Kagu, and Chairman of Borno Sangaya and Islamiyya Board, Shiekh Arabi Abulfatahi, in their separate remarks, expressed appreciation to the governor, for according special attention to their establishments by approving their respective demands whenever necessary.
